Tom Larimer: Legislature trying to shut out largenumber of Arkansans

7:31 PM,
Feb. 28, 2013

Tom Larimer

Written by

Tom
Larimer

A series of bills have been filed in the Arkansas Legislature that have the potential to create a layer of government secrecy the likes of which we have not seen since the Freedom of Information Act became law in the mid-1960s.

The bills, filed by Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, would remove publication of public notices from Arkansas newspapers and allow them to be "published" on a government web site operated by the Secretary of State. Proponents of the bill suggest this would result in considerable saving to state government.

The price the general public in Arkansas would pay would far exceed any ...